Pages

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Wednesday Evening: Moratuwa

Wednesday evening's service, held in the same location as Adara Sevana, was a lively blend of music, preaching, and prayer. Funny enough, I knew most of the songs we sang, but hearing them in Sinhala blanked out the English words in my brain. Thankfully, I retained the melodies, and could draft along with the local language surrounding me.

One purpose of the service is to bring together Christians from many churches and denominations, thus it is deliberately scheduled from 6:00 to 7:00 PM, to allow people time to also attend service at their home church, particularly during the Lenten season. Gary shared a very direct and faith-stirring message on the eternal, inimitable, life-altering power in the Blood of Christ, after which many people came forward to receive prayer.

Praying for people is always a privilege, and we all step forward in faith every time we pray. But a difference in language between a pray-er and pray-ee presents an interesting reliance and stretching of another sort, when you have no idea what the person wants prayer for - and even when they tell you, you can only nod and smile, and dive in! (And I'm sure there's stretch and oddness on the pray-ee side as well!)

My sister and I have chatted a bit this trip about how we absorbed at a very young age that God was always with us, and He has promised that He hears us when we pray. I think this sureness of His nearness provides a launching pad from which to pray for people, resting in the confidence that it is God's job to see and meet the need, and we get the easy work of paying attention and being willing to go along for the ride. It's the most amazing, rewarding interaction - with both God and people He loves dearly - and we really need to be available to do more of it, no matter where we are in the world. (Big note to self...!)

Thursday, we are up with the birds and headed to stay at a bird sanctuary in Nuwara Eliya, which will be home base as we conduct four more eye clinics nearby on Friday and Saturday. The weather forecast there is significantly cooler - similar to late spring in Montana - which will be a nice change.

Thank you for journeying with us this far; please stay tuned for more of our travels! - Cyndy